asked the Minister for Health the number of additional beds considered necessary for geriatric purposes in County Mayo.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Geriatric Facilities.
13.
I understand from the Western Health Board that at present they have a working party examining the psychiatric and geriatric services in the board's area. It is expected that their report in respect of these services will be ready in the not too distant future and that it will include their recommendation concerning the bed needs for geriatric purposes in County Mayo.
14.
asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of the acute shortage of emergency institutional and hospital accommodation for the aged in the greater Dublin area; and if he will state the measures being taken to meet the current critical needs.
I note that the Deputy refers to emergency accommodation. I am satisfied that the acute hospital facilities in the Dublin area are adequate to meet the demand for the accommodation of patients of all age groups requiring urgent admission. In the case of institutional care for the elderly the demand for accommodation is greater than can be accommodated in the facilities under the control of the Eastern Health Board. That board have under consideration the provision of additional accommodation in welfare homes. Overall, the institutional provision for the aged in public and private homes in the greater Dublin area is very substantial, exceeding the guideline figures suggested in the report on the care of the aged. The development of improved domiciliary support services in the Eastern Health Board will be a highly significant factor influencing the demand for institutional care.
Can the Minister give us any details of the welfare homes in the Eastern Health Board region? For instance, what are the numbers they are expected to accommodate, the numbers they have accommodated to date and how they compare with areas in other health board regions?
According to the Care of the Aged Report, 40 beds per 1,000 of the population are required for institutional care. In relation to this, Dublin city and county will need 2,640 beds but there are about 4,500 such beds in Dublin city and county. Apart from St. Brendan's and St. Ita's Hospitals the Dublin Hospitals Board have about 1,400 beds in their own Dublin geriatric units. They also maintain patients in private homes either by way of capitation grant or by way of the making of block grants to the homes. As the Deputy should know, the Dublin Regional Hospital Board will have to make recommendations as a matter of priority to complete the assessment and rehabilitation process that has begun already in St. James's Hospital. They will have to assess the need for geriatric cases but, as the Deputy knows also, there is a huge potential demand for domiciliary care. This care can be developed only by voluntary organisations with the statutory grant that I am now providing, that is, £300,000 for the care of the aged and home help. This is a complicated procedure requiring complicated investigation and I could not possibly go into it in detail on the occasion of a reply to a Parliamentary question.
The Minister will appreciate that St. James's Hospital in Dublin is unfit for 200 elderly patients. It constitutes a fire hazard as well as everything else. The programme for the provision of care for the elderly is quite inadequate. The grants and allowances given to those who care for such people are not sufficient and the Minister and his colleague should consider increasing them. Even then they would cost less than the amount required for hospital accommodation.
More has been done in the last two years to help the aged to live in the community than was done in any other period.
The grants are not sufficient.
15.
asked the Minister for Health the number of geriatric beds it is proposed to provide at Kiltimagh, Westport, Ballina and Claremorris, County Mayo.
I have agreed to the proposals of the Western Health Board to provide homes for the aged containing 40 beds each at Ballina, Claremorris and Westport. My Department have not received any proposals to provide geriatric beds at Kiltimagh.
16.
asked the Minister for Health if preparations are being made to provide homes for the aged at Manorhamilton, County Leitrim; and, if so, the stage of planning reached.
It is proposed to provide a 40-bed home for the aged at Manorhamilton. Tenders have been received by the North-Western Health Board and the board's proposals regarding the acceptance of a tender were received in my Department within the past week. These proposals are at present being examined.